Croatia beats England in extra-time to reach first World Cup final

Croatia will compete in its first World Cup final after putting England to the sword with a gripping 2-1 extra-time win in Moscow.

For the third consecutive match, Croatia was forced to play 120 minutes after the game ended 1-1 in normal time. But unlike its victories over Russia and Denmark, Croatia at least did not need penalties to decide the outcome as Mario Mandzukic's 109th-minute winner proved decisive.

Kieran Trippier's first international goal, an exquisite free-kick in the fifth minute, gave England a lead which was negated when Ivan Perisic drew his team level in the second half.

After a poor first half, when the two consecutive 120-minute matches Croatia had needed to reach the last four looked to have taken its toll, Croatia found seemingly endless reserves of energy after the break to set up a showdown in the Russian capital against France for the sport's ultimate prize.